Retail stores have a need for many types of storage, display, and serving fixtures and areas for the retail goods. Goods must be visibly displayed for the customer's easy access. Extra inventory must be stored until needed.
Such needs are present, for example, in convenience stores. Such a display apparatus, s ideally requires only low maintenance, has a long life, and can be readily installed in a variety of floor plan configurations. It should also be movable when loaded. The "gondola" is typically used in convenience stores for display of merchandise. The term "gondola" is the term used in the convenience store trade for a vertically standing display rack or assembly capable of holding several shelves or hooks for displaying merchandise, These can be assembled back to back and end to end to create walking aisles in a convenience store where merchandise is displayed on both sides of the aisle:
Existing gondola construction materials are carbon steel, aluminum, pressed hard board, and wire space frame systems. Each and every current design takes considerable time to install, and cannot be readily moved when fully loaded. Steel and pressed hard board have the disadvantages of being heavy, being manpower intensive for assembly, being susceptible to chipping and scratching of the painted surface, having assembly difficulties due to non-uniform parts, and being difficult or impossible to move after assembled and loaded.
Accordingly, there is an immediate need for a new light weight, one piece, structurally sound merchandising gondola which can be used in all retail facilities, libraries, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, general stores, grocery stores, and other like facilities.
A modular design is desirable so as to reduce manufacturing cost. A single piece basic gondola unit is desirable to reduce assembly problems and to eliminate the irregularities which arise when each gondola unit requires separate assembly. The gondola should be made of an inexpensive material that is durable, easily cleaned, and of light weight. The present invention addresses all of the above problems and provides a gondola assembly to meet the above discussed needs.